23 Year old Testosterone, TOTAL 276 241-827 ng/dL

I am 23 years old, had my appendix removed about 2 years ago, my Mom passed away shortly thereafter and I just don't feel the same as I once did. I have gained 40lbs since then, I cannot seem to lose it I have been eating a clean 2300 calories a week for the past 3-4 month, doing cardio 4-6 times a week. I recently had my test levels checked and they were )Testosterone, TOTAL 276 241-827 ng/dL) Which from what I have read is quite low for someone my age although my doctor said they are within the normal range of 241-827ng/dl. I do not want to be on TRT as it is a permanent thing. I recently switched doctors, I will be meeting the new one tomorrow. My previous doctors solution to everything was to hand me Antin Depressants and hope for the best. I am not depressed, I would describe how I feel now as more moody, and unmotivated but I push to feel okay. I have tried natural supplementation to no avail and want my doctor to do something. I have no sex drive, I am overweight and cant seem to change that. My moods swing all over the place, I feel worn out, tired... ect and it feels as though it is compounding. Any recommendations on what I should do to get my doctor to help me out? What other options are there besides TRT?

2000-2300 calories a day, I weigh 220. Clean meaning no junk, not 2300 calories of Taco bell a day.
TSH (THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE) WITH REFLEX TO FREE T4
Component Your Value Standard Range Flag
TSH 2.067 0.320-5.500 uIU/mL
I have had the same test done 2 other times prior both showed 1.6 or so

Try some St. Johns wart. Not the cheap stuff you can get at walgreens or cvs, but a standardized extract. I recently decided to give it a go because my emotions havnt been the same with some certain personal issues that I am currently dealing with, and it helps. Another one is GABA. I take 750mg as needed for anxiety (it's also a part of my nighttime supplementation for GH). I know that doesn't help with the DR issue, but maybe adding a natural mood enhancer to get you back on track would be helpful. Best of luck!

Skip this advice if you take... well, pretty much anything else. St. John's Wart is known to mess with the metabolism of many drugs through its interactions with CYP3A4 and other enzymes. I'm in Pharmacy school and this is one of our nightmare supplements in case studies.

Your problem really looks psychological. Test has very little to do with it. Seek help there.

PLEASE PLEASE refrain from giving advice on this type of topic Techner...what an irresponsible post. No it is not in your head, I guarantee it. I am 24 and have struggled through a similar problem for three years. It even got to the place that I thought it was psychological. But you know what, get higher testosterone, and your problems melt away. I can't post a link at the moment, but in this same forum, read the "how can I boost LH" post and you can read my experiences on there. Please don't listen to this guy, what a joke.

you could have sleep anea from gaining weight which is inhibiting REM sleep causing low LH levels = low test.

I had levels at 300ng/dl and was told its normal. Well it is normal...but do you want to be just "normal" or do you want to feel awesome? I went on HRT and I feel awesome...I dont give a F*CK what ANYONE says about TRT, health risks, etc...I feel 10x better than I used to and if i live 10 years less on TRT than I do without it, or I'm less fertile and have to adopt a kid its 100x worth being able to enjoy life more. 10000,0000% of the time, doctors and people will suggest you dont need higher testosterone because its not a fully accepted thing yet in society. But this is a large key to feeling well again. I'm not saying your need HRT by anymeans, I'm just saying you need to figure out the issue and not except what ONE doctor says is "normal". I went to 8 doctors, they all said I was normal and needed mental help. My family turned on me and started saying maybe i'm just mentally depressed etc...well I told everyone to go to hell and stuck to my guns...got my hormones where they are optimized, and I feel 10x better.

Go to a real doctor who will understand that 276 is very low. Anti-aging clinics are a good place to start. ALL endo's and urologists are COMPLETE IDIOTS.

PLEASE PLEASE refrain from giving advice on this type of topic Techner...what an irresponsible post. No it is not in your head, I guarantee it. I am 24 and have struggled through a similar problem for three years. It even got to the place that I thought it was psychological. But you know what, get higher testosterone, and your problems melt away. I can't post a link at the moment, but in this same forum, read the "how can I boost LH" post and you can read my experiences on there. Please don't listen to this guy, what a joke.

Yep! A 23 year old male should not have test levels at 276. That scale is made for a wide range of men's ages, and 23 is probably at about the lower end of the age range (something like 15 y.o. to 60+ y.o.). Thus, for a 60 year old, 276 for test may not be unacceptable, but not for a 23 year old. Hell, in the relative scheme of age, you just finished puberty! Your test should definitely be higher!

If your estradiol is high, that would mean too much of your test is being converted to estrogen. If your estradiol is normal, that would suggest your testes are not working properly and your adrenal glands are in over-production to compensate (hence high cortisol). I'd like to see your LH levels, since if they are low, that would explain why the cortisol is high, since the adrenal gland would then pick up production of test where your testes left off. There might be more, but it is still early! But anybody who says it is in your head, I STRONGLY believe them to be wrong. Your blood tests are NOT normal for a 23 year old. So, get that estradiol checked, and if you can give ANY more information (give all lab test values-preferably estradiol and leutinizing hormone), that would help! I think estradiol and LH would lead to a definitive answer as to what is wrong (or get you MUCH closer). Sorry I couldn't help more, I too know how difficult this can be!
--Brian
P.S.
Once again, I am NOT a doctor, so take everything I said with a grain of salt. This information was only meant to be a helpful place to start your investigating!

I know that this is not my place but I will share previous experience.

I never had bloodwork done when I was going through this BUT, back when I was about 15 I was overweight, well overweight. I didn't think I was depressed, I thought everything was fine. I was pushed into a psychiatric and went against my will as I didn't see need there, I was working out, I thought I was doing everything right, wasn't losing any weight though.

After a couple of months in therapy, I had been taking medicine (which I thought it was useless mind you, but went along with it) and everything at one point, close to hitting 16 A LOT in my life changed, I was a completely different person, I started going to the gym A LOT more often, started doing things about the same but somehow different and after a 4 month stretch I had dropped about 50lbs, looked almost sick skinny and my whole attitude and life had changed around.

Am I saying that the life change was because of meds? No. Am I saying it was because of therapy? No. Am I saying that it sure as hell was NOT because of meds or therapy? No, I am not either.

I don't know what it was, I don't know if they had a part in it, I would like to belive they didn't and that I pulled it all on my own but I can't do that now can I? I just don't know.

Point to be taken from this: I felt like I was fine before going to therapy and taking meds, but knowing how I felt 4 months later with 40 - 50lbs less made me realize I was NOT fine before, even thought at the time I did think I was. Maybe you don't feel like anything is wrong with you, but sometimes there may be something there even when you don't realize it.

All I am saying is: Don't discard any options or alternatives, don't just write something off without trying.

Your t-level is way low!Im going thiugh the same thing mine is or was 216!A normal range is 400-800 with 400being low.Your going though everything i am its not in your head!My doctor put me on armour thyroid and 100mg test cream.Im also overtrained which lowers everything morning cardio at a steady state lowers t-levels also if done to much,since i've stopped doing cardio and lifting (going though withdrawl like a moo foo)im slowly starting to feel way better.Im doing this hopefully for a week if fatigue and aches go away.For more help go to the male anti- age forum and seek out MATRIX thats who helped me more then you can believe!Worst thing you can do now is give up.Also im 185lb and eating 2100cal a day and losing without doing anything so you might want to find out your maint. cal eating to less will slow everything done and actually make you hold on to fat.

Right now during my recovery week i cut out all carbs mybe 30-40 a day and im getting my cal from protein but mainly fats to try boost my t-levels.If it works i'll let you know buddy!IM hoping it does im running out of things to eat.Getting tired of eggs and cheese already.Tuna and avocadoas are pretty good i must say.